


Let Old Wrinkles Come

by tayryn



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Older Woman/Younger Man, Sexual Content, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-06 01:21:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1839208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/pseuds/tayryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It is time to make Olivia pay for what she took from me.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Persiflage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/gifts).



> As always... I am grateful to Pers for the beta. :)

 

“Hello, Olivia.”

Olivia’s eyes widened at the familiar voice, and she was aware that her mouth was hanging open as she stared at the gentleman standing beside Tanner just inside the door of her office. He was an older man, looking to Olivia to be in his mid to late sixties, with a full head of white hair. She pushed her chair back, and slowly got to her feet.

“Do I really look that different?”

She didn’t answer, and heard the man sigh.

“I must, if you can’t tell it’s me.”

Olivia gave herself a mental shake, as the man claiming to be James Bond left Tanner’s side, and rounded her desk to stand before her. He stopped just within arms’ reach of her, and Olivia felt her heart begin to race as she met his eyes. 

His startling blue eyes.

A blue she had only seen on one man.

Without conscious thought Olivia reached up, and traced her fingers around his eyes, lightly feathering the lines, so much deeper than she remembered, searching them for that unique spark that was… “James…” she whispered.

“It is me, Olivia,” he replied softly.

Everything inside her screamed at her to believe him, that this was truly James, her James, and at that moment, Olivia knew there was only one way to make certain.

She cupped his cheek, and drew his mouth to hers.

As his lips moved over hers, Olivia’s still racing heart began to pound even more furiously in her chest, and when his tongue finally slipped past her lips to meet hers, her heart almost burst with joy. 

“James…” Olivia whimpered, and wrapped her arms around him. This **was** her James. She kissed him passionately until the tears rolling down her cheeks made it impossible to continue. “Oh, my love,” she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

He was home.

After so many months of not knowing, he was home, and in her arms.

“Olivia…” He breathed into her hair, then scooped her up into his arms.

“Oh!” She gasped in surprise, and wrapped her arms around his neck, then continued with a small laugh, “Now I know for certain it’s you.”

James chuckled, as he carried her over to the sofa, and sat down, cradling her in his lap. He nuzzled his face into her hand as she cupped the side of his face once more. “You do remember we have company don’t you?” he asked softly, as she leaned in to kiss him again, shifting his eyes towards her office door.

Olivia turned her head to see Tanner standing where James had left him with an affectionate, and slightly embarrassed look on his face. She refused to feel any embarrassment over showing her joy at James’ return. Not after the agony of the last several months. And, she told herself, Tanner knew the truth about her and James anyway. Nevertheless, a slight flush crept over her that she’d forgotten he was still in the room.

“Stop gawking, Bill, and come sit down.”

Tanner nodded, closed the door behind him, then crossed the room to sit on the opposite end of the couch.

Olivia knew she ought to move from James’ lap, but she quickly realized from the way James was holding her, he wouldn’t let her. Like her, he seemed afraid to let go. She glanced at Tanner, who merely smiled, and gave her an understanding nod.

“So, where should I start?” James asked.

“From the beginning,” Olivia told him.


	2. Chapter 2

James waited until Tanner left M’s office before he stood, and walked around her desk. He held his hands out to her, smiling when she placed hers in his, then gently pulled her to her feet.

“Promise me you’ll be careful, James,” she told him quietly, easing her right hand from his, and laying it on his chest.

He covered her smaller hand with his larger one, while sliding his other hand around her waist to pull her closer. “I promise,” he replied softly, then lowered his head to kiss her. “Would you like me to bring you back anything?” he asked when the kiss tapered off.

“Just you. In one piece,” M answered, then pushed up on her toes to kiss him again, sliding her hands up his chest to clutch at his shoulders. James cupped the back of her head, and deepened the kiss, as he drew her more firmly against his body, pleased when she moaned into his mouth.

When the kiss slowly eased, James pressed his lips to her forehead as she lowered her arms, and embraced him. “This never gets any easier,” she mumbled.

“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed.

M buried her face in his chest, and her arms tightened around him.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” James asked, sensing her heightened anxiety.

She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I know we promised to never let us interfere with our work, with our duty,” M said, and James nodded. He remembered that conversation; they’d had it in bed the first night they made love. “At this moment, the part of me that is your lover does not want to let you go, because I’m afraid if I do, I’ll never see you again.”

“Olivia…”

M shook her head. “I know, I know. It’s silly.”

“No it’s not,” James told her. “I trust your instincts. If you really don’t think I should go…”

“That’s just it, James. I know you are the one I need to send on this mission,” she replied. “As M, I have no doubt about that whatsoever. Olivia on the other hand, wants to take you back home, and tie you to our bed.”

James could not help grinning just a little at that, and arched an appreciative eyebrow, chuckling when she swatted his chest as he’d known she would. He drew her back fully into his arms, and ducked his head to kiss her with all the tenderness he could. “I promise you, Olivia… I will come home to you.”

“You had better.”

“I will,” he said, then reached up to cup her cheek. “And when I get back we can talk about you tying me to our bed.”

She chuckled. “Cheeky sod.”

They shared another long, deep kiss before stepping out of each other’s arms. James stroked his fingers over her cheek, then walked around her desk and across the office. When he reached the door, he turned back to her.

“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks,” James told her quietly, his voice filled with promise.

She nodded.

They held each other’s gazes for a few moments longer, then with a brief nod, James left her office.

**~007~007~007~**

James glanced at his watch, then returned his gaze to the man seated three tables over from him at the outdoor café where he was currently lunching. He watched the man take a long, slow drink of his coffee as he continued to read his paper, and knew it wouldn’t be too much longer.

His eyes darted to the man sitting at the table next to the man he was watching, and tapped the rim of his cup twice, pleased when he received an imperceptible nod in return.

James felt his muscles tense in anticipation. Very soon they would have their man, then he would be on his way back to England… to Olivia.

Her unease before he’d left for his mission had remained with him, and he was worried about her. Olivia had never before voiced her misgivings about sending him on a mission, as either his boss or his lover. She’d always kept them to herself until he’d returned home, and then, while held securely in his arms, she would confide in him the worries she’d had.

James saw his mark fold his paper, then push his chair back. James very carefully eased his chair back from the table as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his fellow agent do the same. When the man stood, and began to walk away, Bond counted to five, then stood, and began to follow him down the busy street.

He was aware of his fellow agent trailing behind him, but did not let his target out of his sight. When the man in question turned down a narrow throughway, Bond followed, then stopped.

There, only four feet ahead of him, was the unconscious body of the man M had sent him to find.

“Good job, Williams.”

“Thank you, 007.”

James glanced over his shoulder as the second agent rounded the corner, and stopped beside him. “Miller, you and Williams secure him, and get him on board the plane. I’ll meet you there in forty-five minutes.”

Miller nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Bond gave them both a small smile, then turned and walked back out onto the main street, pulling his mobile from his pocket as he did, and pushing the speed dial that would connect him to Six. He rarely checked in with Six while on a mission, which he knew drove M absolutely crazy, but this time the memory of her face, and the anxiety he’d felt rolling off her in waves, had him wanting to ease her worries. He knew she wouldn’t be completely at ease until he was on home soil, but the call would help a bit.

Within three rings, there was an answer.

_“Hello, 007.”_

“Tanner. Is she there?”

_“Yes. Hold on one moment.”_

James heard the click on the phone as he was put on hold, then seconds later, M’s voice. _“Bond? What’s wrong?_

“Target has been acquired,” he said without preamble.

 _“Well done,”_ M congratulated him, and he could hear the pride in her voice. _“Did anything go wrong?”_

“No, ma’am. I just wanted…” His voice trailed off. His mobile was work-issue, and he was calling her at Six. He cleared his throat. “I thought I would try something new, and check in.”

 _“Thank you, James,”_ she replied, and in her voice, he heard traces of his lover, and he knew she’d understood why he’d called.

“You’re welcome, M. The target is being packaged as we speak, and should be loaded for delivery within the hour.”

 _“Very good,”_ M responded. _“You will see to the delivery personally, will you not, 007?”_

“Of course, ma’am.”

_“Good.”_

“I have to go now.”

 _“Hurry home, James.”_ Her voice was soft, and James knew it was Olivia speaking in that moment, not M.

“Yes, M.”

He disconnected the call, then pocketed the phone, as he walked past the café, and made his way to his hotel. He needed to grab his bag, then meet Williams and Miller at the small, private airfield they’d found some twenty minutes from the hotel.

The timing would be close, but Bond knew he could make it with plenty of time to spare.

Ten minutes later, James entered his suite, and hurried across to the bedroom, where his bag was already packed, waiting on the bed.

He’d just reached the foot of the bed, when he realized there was someone in the room with him. Before he could turn, he felt the prick of a needle in his neck.

James’ last thought, as his world went dark, was that he should have let Olivia tie him to their bed.

**~007~007~007~**

He came to with a groan, and slowly opened his eyes.

He tried to sit up, but found he couldn’t, and realized he was strapped down. He gave an experimental tug on the restraints, and found there was very little give.

Closing his eyes again, James began to mentally catalogue what damage had been done to his body this time, and was pleased to discover, that except for a pounding headache, he had no discernable injuries.

Opening his eyes once more, he was gratified to find out his head was not secured, and lifted it from the table to look around.

He frowned.

The room appeared to be nothing more than a nondescript hospital room, but James was experienced enough to know that looks could be very deceiving.

He sighed, and dropped his head back onto the bed.

Nothing to do now but wait. He figured the room was monitored, and whoever was responsible for his current predicament would soon make themselves known. Sure enough, within ten minutes, he heard the door open, and the sound of high heels clicking along the ceramic tile.

“Good evening, Mr. Bond.” The voice was feminine and with a slight Portuguese accent. James opened his eyes, and slowly turned his head to see a tall, attractive woman in her late sixties. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Gabriella Pereira. Doctor Gabriella Pereira.”

James’ brow wrinkled as he tried to place the name.

“Do not strain yourself, Mr. Bond. You will not have heard of me,” Doctor Pereira told him. “But I have heard of you.” She trailed a well-manicured nail down his bare chest. “Oh yes, I have heard of you. I also know that bitch you work for.” Her finger stopped at the waistband of his trousers. “And she is the reason you are here, Mr. Bond.”

In spite of the sudden brick he felt in his gut at this new information, James put on his best poker face, and looked blandly at the woman. “So you plan to kill me?” He shrugged his shoulders as best he could. “You wouldn’t be the first to try.”

The doctor laughed. “Oh no, James. I have no plans to kill you. That would defeat the purpose of having gone to all the trouble to kidnap you.”

“And what purpose would that be?”

“Revenge of course,” Doctor Pereira replied. “Olivia Mansfield needs to suffer.”

James was unable to hide the flicker of surprise in his eyes at her use of M’s real name.

She smiled down at him. “That’s right, James. I know who she is. I also know that you, dear boy, are her favourite agent. And what better way to make her suffer, than to torture her favourite agent.”

Bond laughed. “What makes you think I’m her favourite agent?”

“Because I have been watching the two of you for some time now,” Gabriella informed him, then placed both of her hands on his chest, and leaned over him. “When I am through with you, James, you will wish I had killed you, for when I send you back to her, your precious M will never look at you the same way again. You will be a shadow of the esteemed agent she holds in such high regard.”

Before James could brace himself, she drew her nail back up over his stomach, the sharp point leaving a deep, painful scratch. He gasped at the sudden pain, and involuntarily sucked in his stomach. The doctor laughed softly as she straightened up, and walked away. Bond turned his head to watch her.

Pereira stopped in the now open door, and looked back at him, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “It is time to make Olivia pay for what she took from me.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Gabriella Pereira,” Olivia repeated the name. “Gabriella…”

“Is it familiar?”

Olivia opened her mouth, then shut it again, and shook her head. “Vaguely. Something about the name is ringing a bell, but I can’t place it.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, James.”

James rubbed her back. “It’s all right.”

“No, it’s not!” Olivia told him emphatically, and frustrated by her memory, or lack thereof, she moved to slide off his lap, but he held her in place. “What happened to you is my fault! Because of something I did in my past, you were tortured.”

“That’s par for the course in this business, and you know it.”

She closed her eyes, nodding slowly. James was right. She felt tears prick at the inside of her eyelids at the memory of all the times he’d been hurt, and/or tortured because of a mission she’d sent him on.

“Olivia, it’s not your fault,” James intoned softly, and she felt his fingers caress her cheek. She opened her eyes to meet his steady gaze, seeing nothing but love and affection in the blue depths. “This is the life I chose. Never forget that.”

Olivia nodded.

“Good. Now, would you like me to continue with my story?”

“Yes,” she replied, and reached up to grasp his hand in hers, lacing her fingers with his before resting their joined hands in her lap.

James gently squeezed her fingers.

**~007~007~007~**

Bond awoke to the feeling of a needle slipping into his arm. He opened his eyes to find Doctor Pereira standing over him.

“Ah, good morning, James. So nice of you to wake up, and join in the fun. Did you sleep well.”

“Like a log, thanks for asking,” James replied flatly.

Gabriella patted his chest. “Good. Good. I am glad to hear that,” she said, as she taped what James now realized was an IV needle into place, just below the crook of his elbow. “This,” the doctor held up an IV bag filled with clear liquid, “is merely Sodium Chloride. I do not want you to become dehydrated as we move forward with the procedure.”

“How thoughtful of you,” he retorted.

The doctor chuckled softly, as she hung the bag on the pole next to his bed, then connected the saline to the line. “I’m glad to see your sense of humour is intact.”

James felt a sudden chill as the saline entered, and began to spread through his system. He watched as Pereira straightened up, but kept her eyes on the drip for several moments, before dropping her gaze to Bond.

“Before we begin, allow me to explain what is going to happen to you,” Gabriella told him. “I am a geneticist, specializing in gene therapy and genetic engineering.” She paused, her eyes flickering to the IV once more before continuing. “Over the next several weeks, I will be injecting you with a special serum of my own design.” The doctor held up a vial of green liquid, and smiled as she turned it back and forth to catch the light. “I call it Senectutis. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Bond did not respond.

A look of annoyance flashed across Pereira’s face before she continued. “Senectus was the Roman god of ageing, and Senescence is the biological process of ageing. So, the serum’s name is quite apt, you see.” She curled her fingers around the vial, and held it tight in her hand. “It has taken me many years to get to this point with the formula. So many tests. But now, after much success with the lab animals, I do believe I have perfected it.” Her mouth drew up into the same cruel smile he’d seen on her the day before. “And you, my dear Mr. Bond, will be my first human test subject.”

In spite of his feigned nonchalance, James felt a momentary spike of fear at the manic look in her eyes.

Physical torture, being whipped, cut, hit with fists, James could take. It hurt like hell, but he was used to it – well as used to that sort of thing as any one person could be – and could endure it for as long as he needed to. He’d been trained to withstand many forms of physical torture, and had already done so for Queen and country.

But this… being tortured with drugs… that was something altogether different.

James knew, however, he would endure anything if it meant it would keep Olivia safe. She was the most important person in his life, and there was nothing he would not do to keep her safe.

He knew Doctor Pereira was torturing him as a way to punish Olivia for something that had obviously happened in the past, but he also knew he could, and would, be all right once he was safely back in Olivia’s arms. And he would make it back to her, James swore to himself.

Her touch, her loving embrace, had helped heal him, and bring him back from the edge of despair many times over the years. Even before they had become lovers, a simple touch of her hand on his arm had been enough to help, as the feelings between them had been there long before they’d given in to them. And no matter what this doctor did to him now, Olivia’s touch, her love for him, would help heal him once more when he made it back to her yet again.

Gabriella glanced up at the IV. “I think we’re just about ready for your first dose,” she told him.

James watched as she reached over to an instrument tray he hadn’t noticed earlier, and picked up a syringe. His eyes followed her every move as she slid the needle into the vial, then pulled back the plunger, filling the syringe with the green liquid. She tapped the syringe to force any air to the top, then expressed it from the syringe.

“With this first dose, I don’t expect you to feel any pain,” the doctor said, as she lifted the IV tube, then slid the needle through into the port. “But then again, each subject is different.”

Bond found himself holding his breath, as she depressed the plunger, and watched the Senectutis travel down the IV line into his arm. He winced involuntarily at the slight burning sensation where the IV needle was embedded his arm.

“If you do feel any pain, or anything at all, no matter how small or insignificant you think it may be, please let me know,” Doctor Pereira requested. “After all, every little bit of information is helpful.”

James scowled at her, vowing in that moment to not give this woman the satisfaction of hearing him cry out when, or if, he experienced any pain. But James had no plans of being around long enough to let it get to that point. To that end, he tugged gently on the straps holding his arms down, testing them once again.

“Please, James, save your strength. These straps are of the finest, strongest leather made, and are quite secure. You have no hope of breaking free.”

Bond’s scowl deepened. “When I don’t report back…”

Gabriella laughed. “But you have,” she told him, then pulled a remote from her pocket, and pointed it at the wall at the foot of his bed. She pushed a button, and the wall flickered to life.

James watched as Williams and Miller boarded the small private plane that would take them back to England, and just behind them was a man who looked exactly like him.

“You see, James, I have thought of everything,” she said in a voice filled with arrogance. “That man boarding the plane in your place has done nothing for the last several years but study you, and learn everything there is to know about you. And now, he is you.”

He shook his head. “It won’t work.”

“But it already has, Mr. Bond.” Gabriella told him. “Your double has arrived at MI6, and is on his way to report to that bitch as we speak.”

James felt his stomach drop.


	4. Chapter 4

Olivia returned the pressure of James’ hand as he squeezed hers.

“How long before you knew that other man was not me?”

“I suspected from the moment he walked into the office that something wasn’t right,” she answered him.

“How long, Olivia?”

Olivia sighed.

**~007~007~007~**

“Well done, 007.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Is there anything else you need to report?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am, that’s everything.”

Olivia regarded Bond.

From the moment he’d followed Tanner into her office to make his report, she’d felt there was something not quite right with her agent. She couldn’t put her finger on just what, but she knew there was something. He looked fine, a little tired perhaps, but otherwise unharmed for a change, for which she was extremely grateful. Yet some instinct was telling her that something was off.

“Very well,” she said. “Report to medical, then you’re free to go.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you,” he said, then got to his feet.

“Tanner, please have Major Townsend meet with our guest,” she ordered her Chief of Staff.

“Right away, M.” Tanner replied, as he stood as well.

The two men moved across the office. When they reached her office door, she called out. “Bond! A moment please.”

Bond stopped, and turned back to face her. “Yes, ma’am?”

Olivia waited until Tanner had left her office, then motioned for Bond to close the door, as she pushed her chair back, and stood. She moved around her desk, then walked over to stand before him. Stepping closer, she reached up to grasp his face. “Welcome home, James.” she said softly with a smile, then drew his mouth to hers, kissing him deeply.

The moment her tongue met his, Olivia knew what her gut had been trying to tell her.

This man she was kissing was not her lover.

She dropped her hands to his chest, and fighting every instinct to push him away, she slowly ended the kiss.

“That’s some welcome home,” he said with a grin, his hands holding her waist.

Olivia looked into his eyes, and felt her heart constrict. There was nothing in the blue eyes that was remotely her James. 

She forced a smile, and patted his chest. “A reward for a job well done,” she told him, then stepped back, moving out of his grasp. “Now get down to medical.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He returned her smile with a nod, then opened her office door and left.

Olivia hurried over to her desk, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Picking up her phone, she pressed the button connecting her directly with Tanner. “Tanner, would you come in here, please.”

At his acknowledgement of her request, she disconnected the call.

Olivia reached for her cup of tea, and took a large swallow, swishing the bitter brew around her mouth, in a bid to remove the Bond double’s taste from her tongue, before activating a line to medical.

She looked up when her office door opened, and Tanner entered. “Doctor,” Olivia spoke into the phone, gesturing for Tanner to sit. “Bond is on his way for his post-mission check up. I want him sedated,” she ordered the doctor, and saw Tanner’s eyes widen in surprise as he sat. “I’ll be down shortly,” she told him, then hung up the phone.

“Ma’am…” Tanner began, but Olivia cut him off. “That man is not James Bond.”

“How do you know that?”

Olivia took another sip of her tea, before placing the cup on the desk, then took a deep breath. “James and I are lovers, Bill.” she confided quietly, then moved to sit in the chair beside him. “We have been for several years.”

“I see,” Tanner replied nonplussed. “So when you asked him to stay behind…”

“It was to welcome him home, yes.” Olivia nodded. “I knew something wasn’t right the moment he stepped in the office for his debrief, and when I kissed him just now, I knew for certain.”

“That means our 007 is still out there, most likely being held,” Tanner deduced.

“Yes,” she replied, no longer concerned about hiding the worry she was feeling. 

“What are you going to do?”

Olivia sighed. “I’d like to put a gun to this man’s head, and force him to tell me where Bond is,” she said. “However, I don’t think that would be prudent.”

Tanner gave her a wry smile, and shook his head. “No, ma’am. Though I do understand the impulse.”

Olivia smiled sadly at her Chief of Staff. “I know you do.” She knew he and Bond were good friends, and that Bill was one of the few men James truly trusted.

“I’m going to talk to him,” she told him. “Find out what he knows, who he’s working for, and what he’s been ordered to do. He could simply be a pawn in whoever’s game it is we’re now playing. But we need to find out.”

Tanner nodded.

“I want you to send Williams and Miller back to Rio. It’s doubtful they’ll find anything at this point, but have them retrace their steps, and 007’s as well. Perhaps we’ll be lucky, and they’ll stumble across a clue as to James’ whereabouts.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Let me know when that’s done, then we’ll head down to Medical.”

Tanner nodded, then stood and left her office.

Olivia got to her feet, and moved around her desk to stand before the large window. She looked out over the Thames, then closed her eyes against the sudden well of tears, refusing to let them fall.

Several minutes later, there was a soft buzz from the intercom on her desk, followed by Tanner’s voice. _“It’s done, ma’am.”_

Olivia’s eyes opened, and she took a deep shuddering breath. “I wish I **had** tied you to our bed, James.” she whispered, then turned, and walked out of her office.

**~007~007~007~**

“You kissed him?!”

“Yes, I kissed him. I thought he was you,” Olivia answered. “But, I knew the moment my lips met his that he wasn’t you. Just as I knew you were you from your kiss.”

“But it was just the one kiss, right?”

Beside her, Olivia heard Tanner chuckle softly, and looked up at James with an affectionate smile on her face. “Yes, James. Just the one kiss.” She watched him breathe a sigh of relief, and her brow furrowed for only a moment, before realization dawned. She turned fully towards him, having slipped off his lap during her tale to sit beside him, and tightened her grip on his hands. “That’s all it was. I promise you.”

James nodded, relief flooding his features. “I knew you would know that man wasn’t me. I had no doubt of that. But I was so afraid of what he’d do to you once you made the discovery.”

“He did not hurt me,” she told him in a quiet voice.

His fingers squeezed hers gently. “What happened when you confronted my lookalike?”

**~007~007~007~**

“Wake him.”

She gave the order, then watched as the doctor slid a needle into the doppelganger’s arm, injecting him with a counter-agent to the sedative.

Moments later, his eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at her with confusion written across his face, and in his eyes as he tried to sit up, but found himself strapped to the bed.

“M?”

“Who are you?”

“What do you mean who am I? It’s me, M… Ja…”

“I know you’re not James Bond, so let’s not, shall we?” Olivia cut him off, then continued in a flat, unemotional voice. “We’ve taken a sample of your blood, and it won’t be long before we know who you really are, however you can save us all a lot of time by simply telling me who you are, and who you work for. The more you cooperate, the easier it will be on you.”

Olivia watched the man on the bed process this information.

“Before I tell you anything, you have to promise you’ll protect my family. Please. My wife, my children… they’re in danger, please.”

Olivia searched his face for several moments, then nodded. “Very well. Tell me where your family is, and I will send some of my men to take them someplace safe.” He quickly rattled off an address, and Olivia turned to Tanner. “See to it, Mr. Tanner.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tanner replied, pulling his mobile from his pocket as he left the room.

She turned back to the man on the bed.

“Thank you,” he said, and Olivia could see genuine relief in his eyes.

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s start from the beginning, shall we. What is your name?”

“Jackson Mitchell.”

“Who do you work for?”

Jackson frowned. “I don’t honestly know, ma’am.”

Olivia’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not being deliberately obstructive, I swear!” Jackson told her in a rush. He took a deep breath. “I was contacted a little over two years ago by a man who said he was with the Secret Service. He told me they were impressed with my service record, and were interested in recruiting me for a special assignment.”

“Service record? You were in the military?”

“Yes, ma’am. I did a tour with the Royal Air Force.”

Olivia nodded, then gestured for him to continue, and listened attentively as Jackson explained what he’d been recruited to do.

“It did not take me long to realize they were planning to have me impersonate your Bond,” Jackson said. “I resembled him, yes, but not enough to pass as him, and when I mentioned that fact, I was told I would be undergoing some minor cosmetic surgery. That’s when I told them I couldn’t do it,” he paused, and a pained look filled his face.

“Is that when they threatened your family?”

“Yes.” His voice was filled with anguish. “I had no choice.” He reached out to grasp her hand. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”

Olivia patted his hand with her free hand, then extricated her hand from his. “I understand your desire to protect those you love,” she responded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tanner reenter the room. She turned to look at him, and raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“Our team has just arrived at Mr. Mitchell’s home, and is collecting and moving them as we speak,” Tanner replied.

“Thank you, Mr. Tanner.” Olivia smiled at her Chief of Staff, then turned back to Jackson. “Your family is safe. Now, what else can you tell me about who you’re working for?”

Jackson shook his head. “All I know is some woman calling herself Dr. P is in charge.”

“Is there anything of note you can tell me about her?”

“Not too much, I’m sorry. I never actually met her. My only contact with her was by phone. She had an accent. Spanish… no, Portuguese I think,” Jackson answered her, then gestured at the table. “Is it all right if I sit up?” Olivia nodded, and he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

“Ma’am?” Tanner spoke up. Olivia looked over at him. “Mr. Mitchell’s family is now in transit.”

“Thank you,” Mitchell said, with a grateful smile, then turned to look at Olivia. “Thank you, M,” he said again, then his face grew serious. “I’m not sure how you will want to handle this, but I am supposed to check in with Dr. P every night.”

“To ensure we’ve not figured out that you’re an imposter,” Olivia remarked, nodding slowly. “How are you supposed to check in, when, and how often?”

“When your Bond was taken, I was given his mobile, and was told to call her with that,” Jackson answered. “My first check in is supposed to be tonight. I was to do so once I’d checked in with you as Bond.”

“Thank you, Jackson.” Olivia murmured, then wandered away from him with a thoughtful look on her face. After a few moments, she turned back to him. “All right, this is what we’re going to do.”


	5. Chapter 5

“You let Jackson check in with Doctor Pereira.”

“Yes.” Olivia nodded. “I needed time to find you, and to give you time to try and escape. We monitored his calls, told him what to say, and we were able to trace the calls back to Rio, where I suspected you were being held. Unfortunately, we could not pinpoint it beyond that.”

“Doesn’t matter.” James squeezed her hand, hearing the frustration in her voice. “I’m just glad he decided to cooperate.”

“As am I,” Olivia replied. “Do you want to continue with your story, or do want to call it a day, and go home?”

“I’d rather just get it over and done with now, if it’s all the same,” James told her, then smiled tenderly at her. “I’m looking forward to falling asleep with you in my arms.”

Olivia blushed softly, and knew without looking at him, that Tanner was grinning. She tightened her grip on James’ hand. “I’m looking forward to that as well.”

James lifted their joined hands to his mouth, and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “So, where was I?” he asked, lowering their hands to rest on her thigh. “Oh yes, she’d given me the first injection of the Senectutis.”

Beside him, Olivia shuddered. His grip on her hand tightened a little more.

“Doctor Pereira took great pleasure in telling me how my double had obviously fooled all of you,” he said. “But when she failed to mention anything about him bedding you, or any kind of a personal relationship, and did not try to torment me in that way, I quickly realized that she was unaware of our relationship.”

“You two hid it very well,” Tanner spoke up.

James and Olivia shared a smile.

“We worked very hard to keep it that way,” James responded. “I did not want to jeopardize Olivia’s position here at Six.”

“Understandable,” Tanner said. “It is still very much an old boy’s club here.”

James nodded his agreement, then a thought occurred to him. “Where are the Mitchells being kept?”

“In one of the London safe houses,” Tanner replied.

“Once we’re certain the threat to his family has been neutralized, we’ll let them return home,” Olivia told him. “Why?”

“I’d like to meet him. To thank him for cooperating. His actions helped secure your safety as well as mine.”

Olivia nodded, then looked over at Tanner. “Will you make the arrangements.”

“Of course. Is tomorrow all right?”

“That should be fine,” Olivia replied.

“Thanks, Bill.” James gave his friend a grateful look.

Tanner smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“Now that’s been arranged, I think you should continue with your report,” Olivia said.

“Yes, ma’am,” James replied. “That evening, the evening of the first injection, she came back to my room…”

**~007~007~007~**

“Good evening, James.”

Pereira’s voice broke the silence of the room.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fabulous, thanks for asking,” James told her in a flat voice. He refused to tell her that he had started experiencing a strange tingling throughout his body, as if every nerve in his body was jumping at the same time.

“Good. Good. Glad to hear that.” James turned his head, and watched her approach, carrying a covered tray. “I’ve brought you something to eat. Nothing much I’m afraid, just some soup and a sandwich. We don’t want to put anything too heavy in your stomach while you’re on the Senectutis, as it can cause nausea.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

“I’m not heartless, James. I do not wish to make you suffer unnecessarily,” she said, placing the tray down on the stand beside his bed. At that moment, he heard the door open again, and saw a tall, thickset gentleman walk up, and stand behind the doctor, then pull out a gun, which he trained on James. “If I remove your restraints to allow you to eat, do I have your word as a gentleman that you will not try anything?”

James glanced at the other man, then back up at the doctor, and nodded. “Yes.”

“Good!” Gabriella smiled, then quickly unbuckled the leather binding his right wrist to the bed. Once that was done, she moved down to the foot of the bed, and released the straps around his ankles, then around to undo the strap securing his left arm. “You may sit up now, but do be careful of the IV.”

Bond slowly sat up, and after a brief moment of dizziness, swung his legs around to hang off the bed.

“If you cooperate, and are a good boy, I shall consider keeping the straps off you from now on, except, of course, when you are receiving your injection. However, should you choose to abuse my generosity, I will not hesitate to strap you down once more, and not only will you be fed intravenously, I will have a catheter inserted.”

James winced, and merely nodded his understanding.

“Very good,” Pereira remarked, as she slipped around the bed once more. “Before you eat, however, there is one thing we must do first.”

James watched as she pulled a needle and test tube, from her jacket pocket, followed by a tourniquet, antiseptic wipe, some cotton wool and a couple plasters, which she placed onto the bed beside him before reaching for his left arm. She turned his arm, holding his elbow in her left hand while she rubbed the hollow of his elbow with moderate pressure, tapping her fingers firmly against his skin.

“Make a fist please.”

He clenched his hand.

“Thank you.”

She tapped his arm again until several veins became easily visible, then reached for the tourniquet, and tied it around his lower bicep, before reaching for the antiseptic wipe. She tore it open and removed the damp piece of cotton, and swabbed his arm. Dropping the soiled wipe onto the bed, she reached for the needle. Removing the cap, she very carefully slipped the needle into his vein, then grabbed the tube, and placed it in the holder, pushing it down until it began to fill with his blood.

When she had enough, Pereira pulled the tube from the needle, pocketed it, then reached for the cotton, which she held against his skin over the needle as she withdrew it from his vein.

“Hold this,” she told him.

With a deep sigh, James placed his fingers over the cotton, and pressed down while the doctor recapped the needle. She placed it on the bed, then reached for one of the plasters, and after removing the paper, she lifted the cotton, and pressed the plaster in place.

“There we go,” Gabriella said, as she gathered up her supplies, then rolled the tray over to him. “Eat up. You need to keep your strength up for the next series of injections.”

James lifted the cover from the tray, and placed it beside him on the bed, and stared down at the simple fare in front of him. He reached for the spoon, then held it over the bowl.

“The food is not drugged, James. Why would I do that when I could simply…” Gabriella tapped the IV pole, and gave him a pointed look.

“Good point.” James acknowledged her. He dipped the spoon into the bowl, stirred it around a moment, then lifted a spoonful of the pale broth to his mouth. He frowned. It was barely palatable, with just the slightest hint of chicken flavour. He picked up half of the sandwich, and looked at it. It looked only marginally more appetizing than the broth – two very thin slices of luncheon meat between two slices of brown bread - but knowing he needed to keep his strength up if he wanted to escape, James took a large bite, chewed, and swallowed.

“I will leave you to enjoy your meal,” Doctor Pereira told him, and slowly moved towards the door, the man with the gun right behind her. “When you’re finished, you are free to move about your room. But do try to get some rest, your next series starts early tomorrow morning.”

**~007~007~007~**

“After she left, I finished eating the soup and sandwich, then explored the room. Except for a toilet and a sink, there was nothing else in the room besides the bed, the empty instrument tray, and the IV pole. So, after relieving myself, I decided it would be best to save my energy and get some rest,” James told them.

“You mentioned something about feeling a tingling sensation throughout your body,” Olivia remarked. “Had it eased at all?”

James shook his head. “No, but neither did it get worse. It stayed a steady, constant sensation,” he told her.

“And the next morning?” she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

“The next morning, the pain got worse.”

**~007~007~007~**

James’ eyes snapped open when he heard the door to his room open, followed by the clicking of the doctor’s heels on the tiles.

“Good morning, James.”

He did not respond.

“Come now, James, don’t be like that,” Gabriella chided him, as she reached the side of the bed. “We are going to be spending quite a lot of time together, so why the silent treatment?”

James glanced at her, spotting the burly fellow from the day before out of the corner of his eye, then closed his eyes. Once again refusing to speak. And even though he was not strapped to the bed – at least not yet – he declined to move or acknowledge her any further.

He heard her sigh.

“Very well, if you insist on playing this game, you may. Eventually you will speak again, if only to hear the sound of your own voice.”

James could hear her moving around the bed, and seconds later, felt the cool, smooth leather of the strap curl around his left wrist. He suppressed his instinct to lash out, knowing it would be futile to try anything just yet, especially when he had no weapon, and her bodyguard was in the room.

As she moved to secure his ankles, she began to speak once more. “You’ve responded very well to the first round of the drug, James. Test results from the blood I drew yesterday are showing remarkable results. I am very pleased with how you are responding.” Pereira finished strapping down his ankles, then moved around the bed to secure his right arm. Once that was done, she slipped her hand in her pocket, and withdrew the vial of Senectutis, and a syringe.

James watched as she slipped the needle into the vial, and filled the syringe with the green liquid, then reached for the IV tube. His eyes followed her hands, as she slipped the needle into the port on his IV, and pressed the plunger.

As he’d done with the first dose, James watched the green fluid travel through the IV tube, and disappear into his arm. He felt the same burning sensation as the drug entered his body, then swallowed hard as the burning was followed by a new, and different feeling.

“With each new round of treatment, the dose will be increased,” Gabriella told him, and his eyes snapped up to watch as she filled the syringe once more with the Senectutis, then inserted it into his IV. “Now, do be cooperative, and tell me what you’re feeling, won’t you?”

James held her eyes for only a moment, glaring defiantly at her, before he turned his head away, and closed his eyes. He would not give her the satisfaction of knowing that with that second dose, his body had quickly felt as if it was on fire from the inside.

He could sense her continued presence beside him, but he ignored her in favour of concentrating on fighting the pain shooting through every part of his body. With every minute that passed, the throbbing in the nerves and muscles within his body seemed to grow more intense, and a groan escaped him in spite of his best effort to contain it.

Beside him, Doctor Pereira laughed softly. “Just think, James…” She patted him on the chest. “It’s only going to get worse.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Oh, James…” Olivia whispered, and laid her hand on his chest, as her eyes welled with tears. Her voice was still soft when she asked, “How bad did the pain get?”

“Quite bad,” James answered, and covered her hand with his. “That evening she came back, took another blood sample, and the next day she increased the dose of the Senectutis. It continued this way for the next few weeks, and then she stopped. I was surprised, but also relieved as the pain was excruciating,” he admitted quietly.

Olivia rubbed her hand over his chest. She could not even begin to imagine what he’d gone through as the drug worked its changes in his body. She knew James could endure a lot, had been trained to ignore pain, and had done so over the years, but this… Olivia shuddered.

“I’m all right now, Olivia.” James told her softly, and slipped his arm around her shoulders.

“Now,” she repeated. “But what she did to you, James.” She looked up at him, her eyes still bright with unshed tears. “And for revenge against me.”

“You still don’t recognize her name?”

Olivia shook her head. “No,” she replied sadly. “Did she tell you anything else about why she was doing this, and seeking retribution against me?”

James nodded. “She said you were responsible for the death of her husband.”

Olivia frowned.

“Not much help, I know.”

“No, it’s not. I’ve killed, and ordered the deaths of, a number of people since my Double-0 days,” Olivia said. “Did she tell you her husband’s name? Or give you a date perhaps?”

James’ eyes narrowed as he turned his thoughts inward, thinking back over the last several months of torture, and the various conversations he’d had with the good doctor. “She mentioned something about Hong Kong, when you were running things there. Shit! How could I have forgotten that.”

“Hong Kong…” Olivia murmured. “Gabriella.” she repeated the name several times. “Gabri… Ella. Bella.” Her eyes grew wide as recognition dawned, and her voice dropped to just above a whisper. “Luis Coelho.”

“Why does that name sound familiar?” James asked.

“Luis Coelho was the head of a very powerful crime syndicate based in Rio de Janeiro throughout the eighties, and early nineties,” Olivia told him. “He dealt mainly in drugs and human trafficking. He was also responsible for the deaths of a number of our agents. They died horrific deaths at his hands.” Her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and revulsion. “Luis was a sadistic bastard.” 

James squeezed her shoulder gently, and she continued telling her story.

“Not long after I became head of Station H, we received intel that he was planning to visit Hong Kong to meet with heads of the two largest Asian crime organizations. This was our opportunity to take down three very powerful men.” Her brow furrowed for a moment. “Gabriella… Bella, was his wife. She was quite lovely if I remember correctly.” She gave him a small, wry smile. “Now that I have finally placed her.”

James and Bill both chuckled.

“You met her then?”

“Yes,” Olivia said, then sighed deeply. “Luis Coelho had a penchant for blonde… voluptuous women.” She felt James tense beside her.

“Olivia? Did you?”

“Seduce him? Yes. Have sex with him? No,” she answered, and felt the tension leave his body. “Thankfully, I did not have to go quite that far before I was presented with the opportunity to kill him.”

“You killed him yourself?”

“Yes.”

“How?” Tanner asked, and she could hear the honest curiosity in his voice. He’d learned long ago, she knew, not to underestimate her like most men still liked to do.

“Poison ring,” Olivia replied with a grin. “I’d known from the start that I would not have been able to overpower him. He was well over six foot tall, and was a very large man. Even with my training, there was no way I could have physically taken him out. So I simply plied him with alcohol, seduced him, and when we were in a secluded location, I stabbed him in the neck with the ring.”

“Pereira saw you.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Olivia nodded, and answered anyway.

“Yes. She knew her husband was a womanizer, and had suspected Luis was going to try and have sex with me. When she saw him lead me away from the party, she followed us with the intention of stopping us.”

“What happened after…?”

“After I killed him?” James nodded. “She screamed, which thankfully no one paid attention to…”

“They all knew what Luis was like apparently,” James interrupted her.

Olivia nodded, then continued. “She attacked me. We struggled for several minutes, until I finally got the upper hand, and knocked her out.”

“So that’s why she’s seeking revenge,” James said. “But how did she know your name? You wouldn’t have used your real name, not with being the head of Station H.”

“You’re right, I didn’t use my real name.”

“That begs the question then, how did she find out?”

“I don’t know,” Olivia answered quietly.

“Is there any chance Silva could have tipped her off?” Tanner ventured the question. “Another way of getting back at you as well?”

Olivia shook her head. “No. This operation was carried out before he was transferred to Hong Kong.”

“But what if he hacked into the system, and found out?” Tanner suggested. “He was a computer genius, albeit twisted, and we know his attack against you was years in the planning. Perhaps he stumbled across the information, and decided to use it.”

Both James and Olivia nodded. It was certainly plausible.

“And there is no telling when he may have found out, if he is indeed the one,” Olivia said with a sigh.

“Is there anyway we can find out if Silva’s the one who tipped off Pereira about M’s real name?” James asked.

Tanner nodded. “Q branch has the laptop you brought back with you, and is analyzing it as we speak.”

“Q hasn’t plugged it into our system again, has he?” Bond asked, with a slight scowl marring his features.

Olivia bit back a smile. She knew James still hadn’t forgiven young Q, or Boy Wonderless as he’d taken to calling him since the Skyfall incident, for not knowing better than to connect a rogue computer into Six’s main computer system.

“No,” Tanner replied, the barest hint of a smile curling the corner of his mouth. “If it’s all right with you, ma’am, I’ll go down to Q branch, check their progress, and see if there’s anything to indicate if Silva was indeed involved. It’s a long shot to be sure, but at least it’s a place to start.”

“Good idea,” Olivia agreed.

Tanner stood. “I’ll be back when I have an answer, and I’ll bring some coffee.”

“Thanks, Bill,” James smiled at his friend.

“Thank you, Bill.” Olivia echoed.

Tanner smiled, nodded, then left the office, pulling the door closed behind him.

Once they were alone, Olivia was not surprised when James tugged her so that she was, once more, sitting across his lap. She smiled tenderly at him, then leaned in to give him a gentle kiss.

Soft sighs filled the room.

“I’ve missed this,” Olivia whispered against his lips.

“So have I,” James murmured, then kissed her again.

The kiss remained slow, gentle, and tender. Neither one felt the need to deepen it beyond that, content to simply enjoy the sweet kiss, and being in each other’s arms.

After a short time, Olivia pulled back to look at him, and lifted her hand to trace her fingers over the lines at the corners of James’ eyes; so much more pronounced now than when she’d seen him last. Ironically, they did nothing to detract from his rugged good looks. If anything, Olivia thought, they only made him look even more handsome.

However, it still begged the question: “Why did she want to age you, James? I feel awful knowing what you suffered, and the pain you endured as she did this to you, all because of me.” Olivia swallowed hard, and felt tears prick at her eyes. “Changing your features would not stop me from loving you.”

“I asked her that same question when she resumed injecting me.”

**~007~007~007~**

“That’s it, James, fight it.” Pereira said softly, her hand moving over his chest, almost caressing him. “It will make the pain worse, and Olivia’s suffering will be complete, knowing you endured this agony in her stead.”

James turned to look at her, his eyes burning with anger. “Why?!” he ground out through clenched teeth. “Why are you doing this?”

“I told you, to punish that woman for what she’s done.”

“How is changing my physical appearance, aging me, going to make her suffer?”

The doctor regarded him for several moments, as if deciding if she should answer him or not. “Very well.” She nodded. “I shall tell you. The answer is twofold. First, to punish Olivia Mansfield. By aging you, I am rendering her number one agent useless to her. And knowing you’ve suffered this, all of this,” she gestured to him, and the IV pole, “will cause her great pain,” Pereira told him. “Secondly, you are simply just another lab animal. You see, I have an even grander purpose for the Senectutis. However, I needed to test it on a human subject first, to make certain it would work as I’d planned, and it has!”

James refrained from responding with a smartarse quip, as the manic gleam had returned to her eyes. However, he could not help being morbidly curious, especially in light of what she had done to him. “And just what is your grand plan?”

“I’m going to clone my husband,” Gabriella answered simply.

Unable to stop himself, and in spite of the pain coursing through his body, James’ jaw dropped. “You’re crazy.”

Pereira’s eyes narrowed, and she spoke in a low, dangerous voice. “I am not crazy! That bitch killed the only man I have ever loved. The one person in this world who meant anything to me. So I’ve devoted my life to getting him back, and…” she paused, her fingers clenching on his chest so that he winced when her nails bit into his skin, “making Olivia Mansfield pay for what she took from me.”

James shook his head, as having warmed to her subject, Gabriella continued, quite animatedly, to tell him her plan.

“I have several samples of his DNA, you see, as well as a healthy ovum. Once fertilization has occurred, and the fetus is at the correct stage of development, I shall inject him with the Senectutis, thus aging him to the correct age.”

“I was wrong,” James said. “You’re not crazy! You’re fucking insane!”

She laughed. “Am I? Am I really? It will work, James. You are proof that the drug works on humans. You’ve seen your appearance. You are no longer physically forty-six years old. You are now physically a man of sixty-five.”

James shook his head again.

“Yes, James.” She nodded. “I am so certain this will work, that fertilization began even before your treatment started. In less than four months, I will have my husband back, and then…” her voice grew harder, and she gave him a look of such hatred his blood ran cold, “Olivia Mansfield is going to die.”

**~007~007~007~**

“Oh my god!” Olivia gasped. “She was planning to clone Luis? She actually loved that sadistic bastard that much?”

“Apparently,” James replied, then wrapped his arms tighter around her. “When I managed to escape, I made it to her lab.”

“And…?”

“She had the fetus growing in an artificial womb,” he told her. “And she’d begun to inject it with the Senectutis.”

“Christ!” Olivia shuddered. “I am so glad you destroyed the lab.”

“So am I.”

“How did you escape, James?” she asked.

Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. 

“Tanner!” they said simultaneously, then chuckled softly.

Olivia gave him a quick kiss, then extricated herself from his embrace, and walked over to open the door. She flashed James a smile, as Tanner stood in the doorway holding a small tray with three steaming cups of coffee.

Once all three were settled back on the sofa, each with a cup in hand, Olivia turned to Tanner. “Well, what did you find out?”

“It was Silva,” he answered.

“Damn!” she muttered.

“Bastard!” James swore at the same time.

“Indications are, he’d hacked into the computer system at Station H long before you gave him up to the Chinese, although he did not impart the information to Doctor Pereira until five years ago. However, according to her notes, it seems she had been planning to clone her husband…” Tanner paused.

“It’s all right, Bill. James just finished telling me of the good doctor’s plans to re-grow her husband.”

Tanner nodded. “Records on her computer indicate she’d been planning it for years. She studied genetics, and genetic engineering for the express purpose of trying to clone him. When she received the information from Silva about who you were, that’s when she began to devise her plan to seek revenge.”

“Tanner, how did you discover all this?”

“She kept a surprisingly detailed journal on her laptop.”

James shook his head, not quite believing it, but also not surprised. “At least now we know,” he said.

“Yes,” Olivia murmured sadly, and felt James grasp her hand. She looked up at him, and saw the question in his eyes. “Gabriella did succeed with part of her plan, didn’t she?”

James squeezed her hand. “Olivia, don’t…”

“Look what she did to you, James. The pain, and suffering you had to endure simply because she wanted revenge on me for killing that bastard!” She pushed herself up off the couch, and wandered over to stand in front of the large window, fists clenched at her sides.

“Bill.” She heard James say softly.

“Of course.”

Seconds later, she heard her office door open, then close, and before she knew it, she was being drawn back against James’ firm chest, his arms wrapping securely around her.

“This is not your fault,” James whispered into her hair.

She shook her head. “No…”

“Yes,” he stated emphatically. “Olivia, love, listen to me, you are not responsible for what that woman did to me.”

“But…” She inhaled sharply when James spun her around, and she found her back against the window, his warm, hard body pressed against hers.

He grasped her face in his large hands, and looked deep into her blue eyes. “We’ve had this discussion already. What happens to me when I am out in the field is **not** your fault. It’s simply part of the job. You send me away on missions, and I go where you send me. Simple as that. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy when we decided to finally give in to what we felt for each other, and take our relationship to the next level, but we did so anyway.”

Olivia nodded. James was right. She hated it when he was right.

“I know that here, James…” She tapped her temple with her finger, “but my heart is another story. I ache for what was done to you, for everything you suffered.”

“I know, Olivia,” James replied softly, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks. “But none of what happened to me then matters now. All that matters is that I’m home with you, and that you still love me.”

“I do love you!” Olivia told him, her voice cracking with emotion. “I love you so very much, James!”

James smiled, his eyes filling with infinite tenderness, as he lowered his head, and covered her mouth with his.

Olivia moaned softly, and slid her arms around him as the gentle kiss quickly grew into a hungry, passionate exchange. She gasped when James’ hands dropped to her hips, and he lifted her off her feet, pressing her more firmly against the thick window behind her. She instinctively wrapped her legs around him, and whimpered into the kiss as she felt his cock beginning to harden, and without thinking, circled her hips against him, pressing her sex against his growing erection.

“James…”

“I want you so much, Olivia.” James groaned against her lips, then lifted his head to meet her eyes. “I’ve missed you. Missed the flavour of your kiss, the taste of your skin beneath my lips. I’ve missed the feeling of you wrapped around me as we make love, my cock moving in and out of your delicious, wet heat. I’ve missed the sounds you make when I’m giving you pleasure, that wonderful little catch in your breath just before you come.”

Olivia groaned, and slid a hand into his still thick, now silver, hair to tug his mouth back to hers. She kissed him fervently, her tongue moving against his, matching the sudden, frantic movement of her hips. “James…” she panted against his lips. “I want… missed you too, but we can’t… not here…” 

“I know,” James murmured, kissing her again.

Several minutes, and several heated kisses later, James eased his mouth from hers. His eyes were dark with arousal, yet filled with understanding as he gently lowered her back down to her feet. He cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb over her soft skin once again.

“Tonight, when we get home, and I have you in our bed,” he began in a hoarse voice, “we are going to make love all night long.”

Olivia smiled, then wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest, and nodded. “That sounds perfect to me.”

“To me too,” James murmured into her hair, as he held her close.

She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of his arms around her, and the sound of his heart beating a steady tattoo in her ear. He’s really home, she thought to herself, her arms tightening around him just that little bit more.

“I’m home, Olivia,” he said quietly, pulling her deeper into his embrace.

Olivia smiled.

At that moment, the intercom on her desk buzzed, followed by Moneypenny’s voice.

_”Ma’am, Mr. Mallory is here to see you.”_

Olivia slipped out of James’ arms, and moved over to her desk. She pressed the button on the intercom. “Send him, and Mr. Tanner in, please, Miss Moneypenny.”

_”Yes, ma’am.”_

She walked back James’ side, brushing her hand against his just as her office door opened, and Mallory and Tanner entered the office. Olivia saw Mallory’s eyes widen slightly when he saw James.

“Good afternoon, M,” Mallory said, walking over to them.

“Mr. Mallory.” Olivia acknowledged him with a slight nod of her head.

“Welcome home, Bond.” Mallory extended his hand.

James took his hand, and shook it. “Thank you.”

“I was relieved and gratified when I heard that you had escaped, and were back on home soil,” Mallory told him. “But I did not quite believe it when I was told what had been done to you.”

Bond self-consciously ran his hand through his silver hair. “I’ve been told that was the general reaction to the news.”

Mallory chuckled. “Yes.”

“James has just been giving his report,” Olivia informed him.

“Mr. Tanner gave me a run down while I was waiting,” Mallory said, then gave James a look filled with a mixture of respect and awe. “I don’t know how you underwent all that, and came away from it still sane.”

Olivia felt James’ curl his fingers loosely around hers as he answered Mallory. “I had a very good incentive.”

If Mallory noticed their hands, he gave no indication, and merely nodded his acknowledgment of James’ response.

“007 was about to tell us how he managed to escape,” Olivia remarked, then gestured toward the sofa. “Let’s make ourselves more comfortable, shall we.”

“Of course,” Mallory replied, and wandered over to sit on the far end of the sofa.

Olivia looked up at James, and smiled when he gave her fingers a brief squeeze. “Come on,” she told him in a soft voice, and she laced her fingers with his. “Let’s finish here so we can go home.”

James nodded.


	7. Chapter 7

James saw Mallory’s eyes dart to his and Olivia’s joined hands as they sat beside each other on the sofa, and could not help chuckling silently to himself. He was a little surprised himself that she’d not released his hand, but more than that, he was quite pleased.

He hoped this meant she was ready…

“So, 007.” Mallory’s voice broke into his thoughts. “How did you manage to escape, and make your way home to us?”

James’ gaze darted between his three companions. He could see the honest curiosity - and in Olivia’s case, concern – in their faces, and took a deep breath.

“After the second series of injections, I was moved to a smaller room.”

**~007~007~007~**

“Welcome to your new accommodation, James!” Gabriella preceded him into the room, her arms spread wide. “I do hope you’ll be comfortable here.”

James entered the room, dragging the IV pole with him, and looked around. It was smaller than the last room, windowless, and painted a sickening yellow. In one corner, as in the previous room, was a toilet and a sink. In another corner, tucked up against the wall was a narrow cot with a pillow and blanket.

He frowned with the sudden knowledge that she was planning to keep him here for a while longer.

James glanced over his shoulder at the door, where he knew Carlos, Pereira’s bodyguard stood just outside the room. If he was going to escape, and make it back to Olivia, he needed to make a move now.

He wandered further into room, and slowly walked towards the doctor.

“If you’re a good boy, James, I may even get you a tele…”

James wrapped the IV tube around her neck, and pulled her back against his chest. “Make a sound, and I will snap your neck… Doctor,” James told her in a low, hoarse voice, tightening the tube just enough to make breathing difficult. He coiled the excess tube around his hand and grasped her arm, then slipped his other hand into the pocket of her lab jacket.

“This won’t work,” she choked out. “You’re an old man now, James.”

James ignored her, and pulled out the syringe he hoped would be there. He pulled the cap off with his teeth, drew the plunger out, filling the syringe with air, then slipped the needle into the vein in the doctor’s neck between the IV tube.

“I know there is not enough air in this syringe to kill you,” James said, “but there is enough to cause you a lot of pain, and plenty of damage if injected into your bloodstream.”

“You… wouldn’t…”

James rocked the needle just a little. “Wouldn’t I? You said you’ve been watching me for the last couple of years, what makes you think I would hesitate to kill you? Especially after you threatened Olivia?”

“You’ll never make it out of here, James.”

“I beg to differ,” he replied. “Now, call Carlos in.” When she hesitated, James tugged on the tube. “Do it now.”

“Carlos,” Gabriella called out.

Seconds later, the burly guard appeared in the doorway.

“Don’t!” James told him when Carlos went for this gun. “Hands up where I can see them.”

“Do it!” The doctor told him in a hoarse voice.

Carlos raised his hands as he glared at Bond.

“Your gun. Take it out, and place it on the floor behind you,” James ordered him. “Ah! With your left hand!” he added quickly when Carlos went to reach into his jacket with his right hand. Carlos scowled but did as Bond told him, and slipped his left hand into his jacket, removed his gun, then placed it on the floor behind him.

“Very good,” James continued once Carlos straightened up. “Now, I want you over there in the corner. Plant your face against the wall.” He gestured to the far corner on the opposite side of the room, near the toilet. Once Carlos was in the corner, James gave him another order, as he began to back towards the door, bringing the doctor with him. “Drop your trousers. I want them down around your ankles.”

Carlos looked back over his shoulder, shooting daggers at Bond as he obeyed, and dropped them to the floor.

“Good boy, Carlos.” James said, kicking the gun out into the hall. He yanked the tube free from the saline bag, the IV pole toppling over onto the floor, then pulled Pereira with him through the door, and into the hall. “Close the door,” he told the woman in his arms. “Close it, then lock it.”

Pereira closed the door, then pulled a small set of keys from her jacket pocket, and locked the door. “The slide bolt as well, Doc.” She swore under her breath, then slid the bolt into place.

“Good girl,” he said, as he removed the syringe from her neck. Keeping the IV tube coiled around her throat, he crouched down, and picked up the gun. Once he’d straightened back up, James pressed the gun to her temple. “Now, Doctor, take me to your lab.”

**~007~007~007~**

“What happened once you reached the lab?” Mallory asked.

“I found the artificial womb in which she was cloning her late husband,” James answered.

“She was doing what?!” Mallory exclaimed, then looked over at Tanner. “You did not tell me that little titbit of information.”

“Tanner didn’t know,” James told him. “He was not in the office when I told M.”

Mallory nodded. “I see. She was cloning her late husband?”

“Yes. She planned to use the drug she’d developed, and was testing on me, to age him accordingly.”

Mallory shook his head in disbelief. “You’re not joking are you?”

“No,” James replied.

“What happened next, James?” Olivia asked him quietly, squeezing his hand, which she still held in hers in her lap.

James returned the gentle pressure. “The good doctor lost what was left of her mind.”

**~007~007~007~**

Doctor Pereira reluctantly unlocked the door, and led James into her lab.

“Christ!” James swore.

In the centre of the room, nestled between more than a dozen machines and various monitors was a giant glass vat. Inside that, floating freely in what James assumed to be some form of amniotic fluid, was a seven month old fetus. He could also see several IV lines running into the vat, connected to the fetus, with the green Senectutis running through them.

“You crazy bitch,” James muttered, as he took it all in. “You really did it.”

“Of course I did,” she stated. “I told you I had.”

In his shock at what he was looking at, James relaxed his grip on her arm, loosening the IV tube still around her neck. The doctor stepped away from him, pulling the tubing away, and hurried over to the… artificial womb, James’ mind supplied the description.

“Hello, my love.” Gabriella crooned, and pressed a kiss to the glass. “Look, darling, I brought you a visitor.”

James’ mouth fell open before he quickly snapped it shut.

“Come say hello to my husband, James,” she called out to him, and waved him over. “Once he is at his prime, my husband will be so grateful to you for all the help you have been. I am certain he will want to reward you for all you’ve done.”

He shook his head in disbelief.

In that moment, James realized that Doctor Pereira was lost, truly lost, in the madness of her own making.

He sighed, and knew what he had to do.

“Step back, Doctor,” he told her quietly, as he raised the gun.

She looked back at him, and her eyes grew wide. “No!” She spun around, pressing her back to the glass, her arms spread wide as she tried to shield it. “No! You can’t!”

“I can’t allow you to continue, Doctor. That thing in there will never be your husband.”

“You’re wrong!” she cried. “He is my husband! And he will soon be the man he was meant to be.”

James shook his head, and cocked the gun. “Stand aside, Doctor.”

“No! No!” Pereira wailed, shaking her head wildly.

“I will shoot, Doctor.”

“You can’t! You won’t!”

A sad look passed over James’ aged face, and then he fired the gun.

Gabriella screamed as the vat exploded, shards of glass flying out to cut her, the fluid inside rushing out in a flood to sweep her off her feet. She fell into a heap at the base of the artificial womb.

The fetus within slid across the floor to stop at James’ feet.

He looked down at it, and could not help the shudder that ran through his body. Being closer to it, James could see that the… child… looked more like a wrinkly old man. The fine, downy hair covering the body, and on its head was white; white as the hair that now graced his own head.

James lowered the gun, aiming it at the body at his feet.

“NO! Please! Don’t!” The doctor pleaded as she struggled to get to her feet on the slippery floor. “Please! James don’t do it!”

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” James said, and another gunshot rang out.

A loud piercing cry filled the room.

James’ attention snapped to the doctor, automatically lifting and pointing the gun at her.

“Bastard!” She raised her arm, a ragged shard of glass clutched in her hand. “I’ll kill you!” she cried, and flew towards him.

James pulled the trigger.

**~007~007~007~**

“She gave me no choice,” James told them in a soft voice. “I had to shoot her.”

Olivia squeezed his hand, and pressed her shoulder against his. “You did the right thing, James.”

James gave her a grateful smile. She knew that, in spite of his being a trained killer, killing women, even ones trained to kill themselves, was not something he enjoyed doing. And the doctor, while she had tortured him, and had threatened Olivia’s life, had not been mentally stable, and he would rather not have had to put that bullet in her head.

“M’s right, 007. You did the right thing,” Mallory agreed.

“Thank you, sir.”

“What did you do after that?” Tanner asked.

“Blew up her lab, and hightailed it out of there,” James quipped.

“I doubt it was as simple as that,” Mallory said.

James chuckled, and shook his head. “No, but not all that far off the mark, actually.” At the expectant looks on their faces, he knew he’d have to explain further. He sighed. “I searched her lab, and found the laptop and hard drives. I also found several useful items. Some chemicals, a few weapons, and plenty of ammunition, which I rigged into a very crude explosive.”

“You saw the building destroyed?”

“Yes.” James nodded. “Once I saw the building blow, I made my way to our Rio location, where I found Williams.”

“I sent him and Miller back to Rio to try to find you,” Olivia reminded him. “When no one had found any sign of you after two months, I recalled Miller for another mission, and left Williams there to continue the search.”

“I’m glad you did. He helped me convince the staff there I was me, and he contacted Bill,” James said, then looked over at Mallory. “I was flown home, given a DNA test, and the rest you know.”

Mallory shook his head, and gave him a look of respect. “Even knowing your propensity for pulling off the impossible, I am still amazed you survived all of that.”

James shifted his gaze to the woman seated between him and Mallory, and squeezed her hand as he smiled. “As I said earlier, I had a very good reason to survive.”

Olivia returned his smile, her fingers lacing with his. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mallory give them another look, and bit back a chuckle when the other man’s eyes widened as realization finally dawned.

“Now that I’ve finished giving my report, I am tendering my resignation. Effective immediately,” James announced.

“James?!” Olivia gasped softly.

He turned to her, ignoring the other two men in the room. “It’s time, Olivia. Even if that bitch hadn’t done this to me, I was planning to retire after this mission, you know that.” She nodded. James smiled tenderly at her as he stroked his thumb over the top of her hand. “It’s our time now,” he finished in a soft voice.

“Yes it is,” Olivia whispered, a small smile gracing her lips.

“Unless the SIS wants to start a geriatric Double-0 section,” James remarked with a grin.

Olivia, Tanner and Mallory laughed.

“Have you given any thought to perhaps staying on in an advisory position?” Mallory asked. “A man with your experience would be of great value.”

“Thank you,” James replied. “I did consider the possibility, yes, but ultimately I decided that I’ve more than done my duty to Queen and country. I plan to find a nice, quiet island somewhere, and live out my golden years relaxing in a hammock on the beach.” His grip on Olivia’s hand tightened a little more, silently telling her that he wanted her with him. She returned the gentle pressure, and gave him a barely perceptible nod.

“I assume you will be retiring as well then, M?” Mallory asked.

Olivia drew her gaze away from James, turning to look at Mallory, and nodded. “Yes,” she answered. “It’s time for me to retire also.” A small smirk played around her lips. “Besides, I think you’ve more than earned your chance to run things here.”

Mallory chuckled, then gave them both an understanding smile. “You’ll be a tough act to follow, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Gareth,” she said. “And you should have an easier time of it as well.”

All three men gave her a curious look.

Olivia glanced at James, and a wry smile curled the corner of his mouth at the mischievous gleam in her eyes. He shook his head, knowing exactly what her answer was going to be.

“Six’s most exasperating agent is retiring with me.”

Mallory laughed, as did Tanner.

James gave her an indulgent smile, and felt himself fall in love with her all over again.

“You do realize there will be a ceremony,” Mallory pointed out.

“No!” James and Olivia chorused, as they shook their heads, their attention snapping back to Mallory in an instant.

“Please, that won’t be necessary,” Olivia told him. James’ fingers tightened briefly around hers. “We’d both prefer to simply leave quietly.”

“The PM will want to do something to thank you for all your years of service,” Mallory pointed out, looking at them both.

“Letting us both retire without a lot of fanfare would be all the thanks either of us require,” James replied.

“I will see what I can do to make that happen, once you have both handed in your formal resignations.”

“Thank you,” Olivia said.

Mallory inclined his head. “You’re welcome.”

“Sir,” Tanner spoke up. “You asked me to remind you that you have an appointment with the PM.”

“Quite right,” Mallory said, and stood. “The PM is expecting a report.”

James and Olivia got to their feet as well.

Mallory held his hand out to Bond once more. “Well done, 007, and once again, welcome home.”

James shook his hand. “Thank you, sir.”

“I’ll see you out, sir,” Tanner told him.

“Thank you, Mr. Tanner,” Mallory said, then smiled at Olivia. “Good evening, M.”

“Good evening, Gareth,” Olivia replied.

With another nod to them both, Mallory left the office, followed by Tanner.

The moment they were alone, Olivia moved into James’ arms, and wrapped her arms around him as she laid her head on his chest. James held her close, and nuzzled his face into her soft, white hair.

“Let’s go home, James.”


	8. Chapter 8

As the car they were riding in sped along the busy street, James reached out, and brushed the backs of his fingers against Olivia’s cheek. She turned her head, and smiled at him.

“You look tired,” he said softly.

“I am. It’s been a long, emotional day.”

“Yes it has,” James agreed, as he lowered his hand to rest on the seat between them.

Olivia covered his hand with hers, and laced their fingers together. “But it was worth every moment, because you’re home.”

“I’m home.”

“I’m curious about something,” she said, after several moments of comfortable silence.

“What’s that?” James asked.

“Just how did you manage to convince Bill to bring you up to me before the DNA results were completed? I gave him explicit orders that I did not want to see you until the results came in.”

James gave her a thoughtful look. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Bill I told you.”

“I promise.”

“I simply proved to him I was who I said I was.”

“But how?”

James chuckled.

**~007~007~007~**

Bond met Tanner’s gaze head on.

“Bill, please! Please take me to M.”

Tanner shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that until the DNA results come back confirming, or not, your identity.”

“Christ, Bill, it **is** me. It’s James!” James told him, holding his arms out. “Look at me. All right, yes, I’ve been aged, but look! Really look at me! Except for the white hair, and the lines and wrinkles on my face, it’s me. I’ve seen what I look like, and I know I’ve not changed that much.”

Tanner regarded him. “I will admit, you do look how I’d expect you to look if you were in your late sixties, and it is your voice I’m hearing, but I’m sorry,” he shook his head again, “I can’t.”

“Dammit, Bill! I need to see her, please. **Please!** She needs to see me too, I know she does,” James pleaded, then stopped, turning away for a moment. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, and he spun around, looking back at the other man. “What if I can prove to you I am who I say I am? Will you take me to her?”

Tanner gave him an exasperated look.

“You have a tattoo,” James said quietly. “A small, red rosebud at the base of your spine.”

Tanner’s eyes widened in surprised hope.

“I took you to get it two years ago. As I recall, you were nervous as hell, because you hate needles.”

“James? It’s really you, isn’t it?”

James stepped closer, placed a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder, and nodded. “Yes. It’s really me, Bill. What does your gut tell you?”

Tanner searched his face, then nodded once, and pulled him into a manly hug. “Welcome home, James.”

James released a relieved breath. “Thank you, Bill.”

“M is going to be very happy to see you,” Tanner told him, once he’d released the other man.

“How is she, Bill? Really?”

Bill tilted his head to the side, then answered quietly. “She’s missed you terribly, James.”

James knew in that very moment that Bill knew about him and Olivia. “Will you take me to her now? Please, Bill. I need to see her.”

“Yes.” Tanner nodded. “Because she needs to see you too.”

**~007~007~007~**

“Bill has a tattoo?!” Olivia exclaimed, as she unlocked, then opened the door to their flat.

James chuckled, and gestured for her to enter before him. “Yes.”

Olivia shook her head. “He’s the last person I would have expected to have one,” she said, flashing him a smile as she walked past him into their home.. “A rosebud?”

James nodded as he followed her inside, then closed and locked the door behind him.

“Did he say why he chose a rosebud?”

“No, and I didn’t ask.”

“Why not?”

“Something in the look in his eyes told me it was a very personal choice,” James replied, leaning back against the door.

Olivia gave him a tender look. “I’m glad you were able to convince him.”

“I am too.”

They stared at each other in silence for several moments.

Finally… they were alone.

Truly alone.

As James drank in the sight of her, he was reminded of the night he’d finally plucked up the courage to tell Olivia that he wanted more from their relationship. The nervous, excited anticipation he’d felt then, he was feeling now.

And from the way Olivia was biting her bottom lip, she was feeling the same thing.

So much had changed, and yet so much was still the same.

“Are you hungry?” Olivia asked quietly.

James stomach growled an answer, and they both laughed.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she responded, her eyes twinkling merrily at him. “Let’s go make ourselves something to eat.”

**~007~007~007~**

With his hands planted firmly on the counter, James leaned close to the bathroom mirror, and peered at his reflection – still not quite used to the old face that gazed back at him - then slowly released the breath he was holding. The nerves that had calmed while he and Olivia had made, and eaten, their dinner were suddenly back in full force.

He shook his head at himself.

James Bond, former Double-0, feeling as nervous as a school boy with his first woman. 

“You’re being foolish,” he told his mirrored image.

“James?” Olivia’s voiced drifted through the door.

“Coming,” he called out, then looked into the mirror once more. “The reason you endured everything that psychotic bitch put you through is on the other side of that door waiting for you. Get your arse out there.”

With that, James pushed himself away from the vanity, then opened the door. Turning off the light, he stepped out of the bathroom, and stopped dead.

“Christ!” he swore, and felt his cock begin to swell in the pyjama bottoms he wore, at the sight of Olivia leaning against the side of the bed wearing his favourite red negligee.

She smiled at him.

“Welcome home, James.”

In spite of his growing arousal, James felt a swell of emotion wash over him at the crack in her voice; so intense was the feeling, it took his breath away, and his eyes grew moist. He quickly crossed the room, and took her into his arms, crushing her body to his.

“…Olivia…” he breathed into her hair, as she wound her arms around him, holding him in as fierce an embrace as he held her.

The heat of her body quickly seeped into his, and for the first time since he parted from her several months earlier, James felt at peace. He closed his eyes, and buried his face in her soft, white hair, not surprised to feel several tears wind their way down his cheeks. Nor was he surprised to feel Olivia’s tears wet his chest.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Olivia murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his chest, then lifted her head to gaze up at him. She raised her hand and, as she’d done when he first appeared in her office that afternoon, Olivia traced her fingers over his features.

“Do they bother you?” James asked her in a quiet voice, as her fingers lingered on the lines at the corner of his eyes.

Olivia shook her head. “Not at all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do the lines and wrinkles on my face, and my body bother you?” Olivia answered him with a question of her own.

“Of course they don’t. They never have,” James told her emphatically.

“Then why should yours bother me?” she asked, beginning to unbutton his pyjama top.

James shook his head, and shrugged. “Because they’re not…”

“Not what?” Olivia inquired, as she pushed the top off his shoulders, then pulled it off, dropping it to the floor. She placed her hands on his chest. “James? Talk to me.”

He looked down as she stroked her thumbs against him, ruffling the hair on his chest. Hair that had been a dark blond when he’d last been with her only five months earlier, but was now as white as the hair on his head. That too had been dark blond, he thought with a sigh.

“James?”

“I’m not the same man I was when I left,” he finally answered, then stepped out of her arms. “Look at me, Olivia.” He swept his hands up and down his body, gesturing to his face, hair and chest. “I’m no longer…”

“What? Young?”

James’ shoulders slumped as he nodded, then sighed again. “It’s foolish, I know…”

“No, it’s not!” Olivia interrupted, and moved back into his personal space, laying her hands on his chest again. “James, you were aged before your time, you have every right to feel what you’re feeling. Anger, frustration, fear… all of those and more. I would be more worried about you if weren’t feeling all these things.”

“It really doesn’t bother you that my body’s no longer young?” James asked her.

Olivia shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. Yes, your body is physically older, but it makes little difference to how I feel about you,” she told him, then gazed at him thoughtfully. “That’s not all that’s worrying you. What is it?”

James took a deep breath, then spoke in a hushed voice, “I’m not sure if I will be able to make love to you like I used to, or with the same frequency.”

Olivia smiled, then reached up to curl her hand around the back of his head. She tugged his head down, and kissed him lightly. “It’s not the quantity, James, it’s the quality.” Her lips brushed against his again. “And you, my love, have never had a problem in that department.”

James chuckled, then kissed her soundly.

“Feeling a little better?” Olivia asked him, a little breathless, he was pleased to note, when the kiss ended.

“Yes,” he replied with a smile.

As James had known it would, simply being with Olivia, holding her, and having her hold him, had begun to heal him. And he knew her continued presence, her touch, and especially her love, would be the balm to heal all the hurt, physical and emotional.

“Yes, I am feeling better.”

“Good,” she said. “I know you still have to adjust to the changes in your body.”

James nodded. “And you’ll be with me every step of the way.”

“Oh yes!” Olivia responded, then gave him a large smile. “Now… I do believe you promised me we’d make love all night long. Why don’t we start there, and see how well we do.”

James grinned, then scooped her up into his arms, and carried the few steps to their bed. He knelt on the edge, then placed her in the centre of the mattress. “Yes, I did.”


	9. Chapter 9

Olivia laughed softly when James swept her up into his arms, then gently deposited her in the centre of their bed.

“Yes, I did,” he said, brushing a soft kiss to her lips, before he straightened up to stand beside the bed.

Olivia propped herself up on her elbows, and watched as he removed his trousers, humming her delight as she raked her eyes over him once he was naked before her.

James watched her face as she looked him over. The first sweep of her eyes over his body, he knew, was to check him for any visible injuries, a habit she had yet to break where he was concerned. The second sweep though, that one was out of pure desire. He watched her beautiful blue eyes grow dark with her arousal, and watched her skin flush as her chest began to rise and fall rapidly.

Olivia felt her pussy throb when her eyes took in the sight of his engorged cock. It had been too long since they’d made love, and she ached to have him inside her. She licked her lips as she brought her gaze to his. “James…” Her voice was low, and huskier than usual. “Come here.”

James grinned and, pausing only to remove the tube of lube from the drawer of the night table, joined her on the bed. He tucked the tube under the edge of the pillow, then stretched his body out over hers, nestling his hips in the cradle of her thighs as she drew her legs up, and wrapped them loosely around his, resting her ankles on the backs of his knees.

“Hi,” he whispered, grasping her face in his hands, as he propped himself up on his elbows.

“Hi,” she whispered back, then reached up to trace his beloved face with her fingers yet again, before cupping his cheek, and drawing his mouth to hers.

Soft moans escaped into the silence of the room as they kissed.

Slow, deep kisses, neither one inclined to rush beyond the slothful pace they’d set; their bodies rocking slowly against each other.

Olivia’s hands wandered, smoothing over his shoulders, down his back and sides, caressing every hard inch of him she could reach; pulling his body closer, wanting to feel all of him. She arched beneath him when his mouth left hers, trailing along her jaw, then down her throat to take a lace covered nipple between his lips.

“Mmm…” she hummed her pleasure, as he suckled the hard point, nipping her through the material before moving to do the same to her other breast, and carded her fingers through his thick, white hair.

“I need to taste you,” James murmured, then shifted lower on the bed until his head and shoulders were between her thighs. He pushed her negligee out of the way, and moaned his approval at her lack of knickers. Wrapping an arm around her thigh, he used his fingers to open her sex to his hungry gaze, grinning when he saw that she was wet. Nowhere near wet enough to take his cock, of course, but enough to feed his craving to taste her.

Olivia inhaled sharply, then gasped his name when his mouth covered her pussy, and he thrust his tongue deep inside her. Her fingers tightened in his hair, and she moaned his name when his lips then closed around her clit, sucking and nibbling the sensitive nub until she was writhing under him.

“James…” she moaned, then cried out in surprise when she came without warning, clutching him to her, and grinding her sex against his mouth to prolong her pleasure. When the haze of her orgasm cleared, Olivia opened her eyes, not realizing she’d closed them, to find James gazing up at her with a smile on his face, his cheek resting against her thigh.

He smiled at her, pressed a soft kiss to her pussy, then shifted up onto his knees. “One of us is overdressed,” James said.

“Then perhaps you should do something about that,” Olivia replied in a husky voice.

“Yes, I should,” he growled playfully. She responded with a soft chuckle, as he reached out to grab her hands and gently tugged her up. His lips found hers as he began to gather up her nightgown, murmuring softly how much he’d missed her, and loved her, before sitting back to pull her nightgown over her head, and toss it aside.

“Beautiful.” The reverence in his voice, when his eyes took in the sight of her breasts, never failed to amaze her. She moaned softly when his hands reached out to hold the heavy mounds, his thumbs circling her already hard nipples. He closed the distance between them, and captured her mouth in a hungry kiss.

Olivia moaned, then sighed softly as James lowered them back to the mattress, his body covering hers in a hard, hot blanket. She caressed him as she’d done earlier, her fingers digging into the hard muscles of his back, fingernails lightly scratching his tanned skin, as she sought to pull him closer.

She grasped his face in her hands, and pulled his mouth from hers. “James…” she exhaled his name, meeting his eyes and shifting impatiently beneath him. “I need you inside me.”

James nodded, then ducked his head to kiss her again, as he reached for the lube still nestled under the edge of the pillow. He pushed himself back up so that he was kneeling between her legs, and uncapped the tube. After squirting a generous amount into his palm, he capped the tube and handed to her.

Olivia absently tossed it onto the night table, as she lowered her eyes to watch his hand slick his cock with the cool jelly. She felt a surge of arousal move through her to pool in her sex at the sight.

James moved back over her, bracing his weight on one elbow as he guided his cock into position, then slowly began to press inside her, mindful of the fact that it’d been several months since they’d been intimate.

“Yes…” she hissed with pleasure, at the feeling of his cock filling her. “Oh yes… so good, James,” she moaned breathlessly once he was fully sheathed within her.

James groaned his agreement, ducking his head to brush his lips against hers. “I’ve missed this… you… so much, Olivia.”

“So have I.” Olivia smiled at him, her fingers feathering the hair at his temple.

They shared another deep kiss as James began to slowly move his cock in and out of her.

“Mmm… just like that…” Olivia moaned against his lips, her hands reaching down to grab hold of his hips.

“Yes, just like this,” James agreed, circling his hips against her with each slide back inside her. He rose back up onto his elbows, and gazed down at her.

She was a feast for his senses - every sound she made, each gasp, moan, and sigh, was music to his ears. His hands delighted in the joy of being able to touch, and caress every curvy inch of her body. The sweetness of her kisses, the saltiness of her skin, and the honey of her sex, was a joy to his palate, while his nose thrilled in the unique scent that was hers, and hers alone, the musky fragrance of her arousal, the lingering traces of her perfume on her skin - every little thing combining to drive him wild.

It was not long before the slothful pace of their lovemaking was not enough. They’d been apart too long, and she felt entirely too good around him. So hot, wet and tight… it was too much, and he began to move faster.

“Olivia…”

“I know,” Olivia moaned, and drew her legs up, curling her right leg around his hip as she began to lift herself into his thrusts. “It’s all right. It’s all right, James…” she said, clenching her inner muscles around him.

James groaned, and began to move harder, and faster inside her, pushing deeper and deeper with every drive of his cock into her. 

“Oh yes…” Olivia gasped, feeling the pleasurable coil of her orgasm beginning deep within her, then cried out when James slipped a hand between them, his clever fingers finding and massaging her clit. Her nails bit into his skin as she gripped his hips tighter, pulling him harder into her. “Yes, James!”

“That’s it,” James urged, rubbing her clit in tighter circles, as the drive of his hips grew more frantic. “Come for me, Olivia…”

Olivia inhaled sharply, her breath catching in her throat seconds before she came, screaming his name, her body arching beneath his.

James groaned, as Olivia’s body tightened around his, inside and out, and with a final, hard thrust of his cock, he came with a hoarse yell of her name, then sank into her embrace.

They rode out the waves of euphoria, as they panted for breath, their bodies shuddering together as the pleasure of their orgasms continued to roll over them.

“Welcome home, my love…” Olivia whispered breathlessly against his ear.

**~007~007~007~**

Olivia sighed, a deep contented sigh, and snuggled deeper into James’ embrace in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

“It’s good to be home,” James murmured, nuzzling her forehead with his lips.

Olivia hummed her agreement.

“So…” James began, walking his fingers along her spine. “Before I left, you mentioned something about tying me to our bed.”

Olivia chuckled, and pushed herself up onto her elbow. “Yes, I did.”

“Does that offer still stand?”


End file.
